GTA Wiki:Bots

This page documents the Official Policy of the GTA Wiki. It concerns standards that all users should follow.

In brief...

Do not operate a bot without permission from staff. Ask for permission here.

A bot (robot) is an automated program or script that performs repetitive edits on the wiki, as instigated by a human operator. They can either perform the edits themselves, running in the background, or can simply assist editors in making revisions.

All bots on GTA Wiki must be approved by staff before use. This includes if you use an automated program to assist in your editing. This is because bots can cause disruption, and mass-edits can be difficult to deal with if a mistake is made.

Operation of unapproved bots is prohibited, and this includes use of approved bots in unapproved ways (outside their conditions of operation). Circumvention of these rules may lead to blocking of the bot account, and possible sanctions for the operator. Wikia staff are permitted to operate a bot without notice for the purpose of general maintenance,

To submit your bot or bot account for approval, please use the talk page, if you need urgent attention, also leave a message at User talk:Gboyers.

It is advised to run a bot in a second account, to help identify which edits are which, but this MUST be clearly marked as a bot. If bots are approved by the staff, they may be granted a bot flag, which adds them to the "bot" group. This hides their revisions from Recent Edits unless you click the "Show bots" option.